28
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Accepted
When did the half-step/whole-step modulation in the middle of a song become popular?
The modulation you describe is often mockingly called the "Truck Driver Gear Change". As you say, it is quite often used, to the point of being cliche. It has it's own page on TVTropes. At one time, ...
- 20.7k
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With modern electronic technology is temperament unnecessary?
In principle, the answer is yes, with software instruments it is feasible to (re-)set the tuning so that you can realize music with modulation that stays in just intonation across these changes. The ...
- 17.8k
21
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modulating from G major to G# major
Any readers may thank you more if the new key becomes Ab. Ab has only 4 flats in it, whereas G# has 8 sharps.
The simplest, which always works, pretty well whichever key you're changing into, is to ...
- 190k
17
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With modern electronic technology is temperament unnecessary?
You cannot even realize "just temperament" reliably when you are working with continuous-tone instruments like singers and trombones.
Take a look at even something as old as J.S. Bach's mass in B ...
- 171
16
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Chopin Polonaise in Ab major, op 53 change in key
You're exactly right! It's technically a motion to ♭VI, which would be F♭ major. But in order to make it easier to read, he spells it in E major (♯V).
F♭ isn't in A♭ major, but it is in A♭ minor; ...
- 84k
16
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Can the same song be written in a minor key and major key with the progression written differently?
The scale/chords are good clues to the key of a song, but at least as important is the tonal center. That's not as easy to define but generally it's where the song comes back to a place of less ...
- 56.1k
13
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With modern electronic technology is temperament unnecessary?
It's a bit more complicated than may appear at first glance. Within a single key, if Just Intonation makes the I,IV, and V chords all (4,5,6) ratios, the ii chord will be off.
The other question is ...
- 25.1k
13
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"Punning chord"
Great question; this is a particularly clever part of music theory!
Here's a nice little example in F major; it's just a I--V7--I progression with a little cadential six-four thrown in there just ...
- 84k
13
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What's the exact difference between modulation, key change and tonicisation?
I think your intuition is mostly correct when it comes to modulation. I would make only one small adjustment: most scholarship tends to view a change in tonic as different from a change in mode. In ...
- 84k
13
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Accepted
What is the musical term for a song that uses a higher key for its last chorus?
Actually none of these are examples of singing in a higher octave, they are examples of “modulation”, a changing of key, usually to a key that is a semitone to a few semitones higher than the original....
- 25k
12
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Why isn't there a closely related key to C minor that has D as tonic?
Closely related keys are keys with key signatures within one accidental of each other. Find the number of accidentals in the given key signature, then find the keys that have that same number (and ...
- 84k
12
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How can I explain/understand a flattened 2nd in a minor melody
Those flattened 2nd scale degrees could point to tonicization of or temporary modulation to the subdominant (e.g. if ^1-^♭2-^1-^4 is harmonized as i-VI/iv-V/iv-iv).
But those flattened 2nd scale ...
- 13.8k
12
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If there is a double sharp on a note, does that mean the piece has modulated?
Let's restate your question generally as: "does an accidental mean the piece has modulated?"
An accidental in a passage does not necessarily mean the music has modulated. Sometimes chromatic ...
- 55k
11
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With modern electronic technology is temperament unnecessary?
"just intonation better than equal temperament"
Judgement call there. When instruments are slightly off perfect ratios, there can be very appealing beating and chorus effects. Piano strings are ...
- 1,282
10
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Accepted
How to modulate very smoothly and stealthily from major to minor?
Within a minimalist sort of setting, one approach I might take would be to boil things down to just the root or root and fifth. If you have a long enough period of time where you don't have a third ...
- 7,429
9
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When did the half-step/whole-step modulation in the middle of a song become popular?
Although I already provided a lengthy answer for this question which got accepted, I've never quite been satisfied with how it addressed the origin of the technique. I merely quote a passage from a ...
- 20.7k
9
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modulating from G major to G# major
Just jumping up the key up a semitone without a chord progression to lead into the modulation is a very common musical trope! Simply change the key signature in-between two major sections of a song, ...
- 3,105
9
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If parallel keys aren't closely related, then why are they so easy to get to?
Closely related keys are keys that have at most one accidental difference. So the set of notes inside the key are almost identical (or identical in the case of relative major/minor keys).
You can get ...
Dom♦
- 47.4k
9
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Accepted
What type of modulation goes from D♭ to A?
By definition, a modulation must reach a cadence in the new key. Since there is no cadence on B♭♭ here, it's technically incorrect to call this a modulation.
Instead, he's simply using a B♭♭ chord ...
- 84k
9
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Why does G-Major work well within a C-Minor progression?
The G major chord is the "usual" dominant in the key of C minor. The harmonic point is the half-step approach to the note C from B. It is extremely common.
As a side note, often, when a ...
- 25.1k
9
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Theories on what key to modulate to
There are two broad categories. Modulation to closely related keys - 'keeping it in the family'. And modulation to more distant keys for contrast.
The first kind include modulation to the dominant, ...
- 90.4k
8
votes
What intervals are common for sudden key changes?
It depends on what genre you're looking at, but here are a few other quick ways:
Down a minor third. This is often done by way of a "common tone modulation," where a pitch (or two) are held over into ...
- 84k
8
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Can I use the German sixth chord to modulate to another key?
All of these answers are correct, but I thought it would be helpful to the OP (and hopefully future readers) to give some clear examples.
The above example is just a clear use of a German augmented ...
- 84k
8
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Can you tonicize to a chord that's not on the original key?
Can you tonicize to a chord that's not on the original key?
Absolutely.
This is not only "allowed", but commonplace, especially by the time Chopin was composing. One of the compositional ...
- 82.4k
8
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Explain to a pop pianist: GECE to GC#A#C# alberti bass transition in K.545 2nd movt
This is a case where it's probably helpful to think of the passage melodically rather than harmonically.
Consider each note in the Alberti bass as a separate voice in a melodic line. In that case, ...
- 82.4k
7
votes
Accepted
Harmonic analysis of "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith
"I think that the E key is the V of the parallel minor scale"
Note that a key can't be the V of anything, only a chord could be the V. But we don't have an E major chord here, we have a (blues) "riff"...
- 20.1k
7
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Harmonic analysis of "Walk this Way" by Aerosmith
An E chord COULD be used as the dominant of the relative minor. But in this case I think he's just shifted the tonal centre up a third as a contrast, because it sounds good- after all, that's what he ...
- 90.4k
7
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Can I use the German sixth chord to modulate to another key?
Hippie answer: You can do whatever you want.
Constructive answer: Yes, this is a good way to modulate up a half step.
- 22.3k
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